From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

This was a fantastic continuation of the series. We get to know a little more about the secrets that are surrounding Celaena and, towards the end, got confirmation on some of my hypotheses! Meyer does a fantastic job keeping the characters in new situations, developing and reacting to each other.

I also liked getting to know about the way magic works in this world. In a sense, the combo adventure, mystery and magic reminds me of the Sabriel series. There are many mysteries still to be determined at the end of the story, but that is what the next stories are for!

Warning: Contains explicit violence and some sexual references.

Rating: 5 stars!

Who should read it? Fans who equally love George R.R. Martin and Tamora Pierce; this is a series that isn’t afraid of descriptive violence, but also has a great female lead.